Trailers are well known to carry a payload during travel between sites. Some trailers carry materials, tools or equipment to and from locations such as a construction work site. In one instance, the trailer may carry a welding power supply, which may be used at the work site. The trailers typically include a frame and ground engaging wheels connected to one or more axles. A trailer bed carries the cargo and may be enclosed by ceiling and side walls. A trailer hitch connects the trailer to a towing vehicle.
Frequently, welding is required where supply power may not be readily available. As such, the welding power supply may be an engine driven welding power supply incorporating a generator. The generator may supply power to the welder as well as to other power tools as may be needed on site. As different applications require different versions of welders and power tools, the trailer may be designed to carry one of many different types of welding power supplies.
Different types of trailer hitches are known in the art for attaching trailers to the towing vehicle. One type of hitch system uses a ball hitch. Typically, ball hitches include a generally spherical shaped ball with a stem extending from a base. The stem may engage a head mounted on the towing vehicle using a ball hitch fitting. A coupling member may engage the ball hitch in loose contact with the head and may be secured thereto in preparation for towing. Other types of hitches include lunette eye couplers. The lunette type tongue includes a rigid, durable, hitch ring or eye in the shape of a torus, which can be placed over or secured to a vertical post or pin on the vehicle. While the lunette eye allows a certain amount of vertical movement of the trailer tongue along the vertical post, the primary movement is horizontal in nature. Lunette eye trailers are particularly advantageous for construction equipment and other heavy-duty off-road type usage. A lunette hitch obviates the need for sockets and other closed hitching structures that are subject to corrosion, dirt collection and deterioration when exposed to weather and other severe operating conditions.
Typically trailers utilize one particular type of hitch. A ball hitch may be used to tow a trailer over even terrain like paved roadway surfaces. A lunette eye hitch may be used when towing over uneven bumpy ground including ruts such as may be found at a construction site or along a pipeline. The lunette eye hitch allows for greater movement between the towing vehicle and the trailer as may be needed in these circumstances. However, a trailer may need to be towed over both uneven and smooth surfaces. But this requires removing and replacing the hitch, which is often not possible or practical. Hitches used today do not incorporate a versatile multi-functional device that will easily obviate this problem.
In view of the current state of the art, there is a need for a trailer and hitch system that can easily switch between different types of hitch systems. The embodiments of the present invention obviate the aforementioned aspects of trailer hitches by including a new and novel hitch system that incorporates dual trailer hitch connectors in a single hitch device.